ELAN Home Systems Brings Groundbreaking Olé To Integrated Systems Europe Show

LEXINGTON, KY — ELAN Home Systems, a leading manufacturer of award-winning Multi-Room audio/video and home control systems, announced today that the company will be participating in the upcoming Integrated Systems Europe show (ISE) in January, and will debut its revolutionary Olé™ Film Interactive Touchpad for the first time in Europe. Olé was launched in the United States at CEDIA 2006 in Denver, Colorado. The announcement was made by Paul Starkey, ELAN’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

In just the two week period surrounding CEDIA Expo 2006, held in Denver in September, Olé broke all previous ELAN product launch records with Dealers booking orders for close to 10,000 units of the highly anticipated Touchpad. The product has since been so well received that ELAN has significantly stepped up production to accommodate demand.

“Being in tune with our International Dealers’ needs, we feel certain this product can fulfill their desire for a serious upgrade in user interface design at a great price point. With Olé’s unique ability to transform itself, literally in seconds, to match any client’s décor and its European designer bezel options, this product is a home run for all of us. We are excited to share this product with our International Customers first hand at ISE,” stated Mr. Starkey.

Olé has already garnered three top industry awards for innovation in the short time it has been available. The product marries the best of both worlds — all the speed, graphics and response of an LCD touch panel with the simplicity and pricing of a keypad, thus creating a completely new interface product category for the Custom Installation Industry.

Among its many groundbreaking attributes, Olé delivers more than 1,500 unique design possibilities upon initial rollout alone. Stunning, photographic quality, backlit slide-in films can be custom-matched to 7 different frame colors, which are available in both U.S. and European styling. These distinctive films are offered in a wide variety of styles, themes and colors that have been carefully designed to match virtually any home and personal taste. It’s easier-than-ever installation and simple VIA!®TOOLS programming saves Dealers valuable time, thus increasing profits substantially.

Upon initial launch, Olé offers nine families of film options, including Contemporary, Gems, Scenes, and more. Additional films will be added as part of ELAN’s on-going, future Olé releases. The brilliant films also offer a choice of 13, 17 and 25 function layouts, providing the end-user with control options ranging from basic to complete whole-house control. The product uses touch-sensitive overlays to detect finger presses over fixed-position ‘hot spots’. The number of ‘hot spots’ is determined by the film selected, and is automatically remapped during programming to suit each film. Any combination of these films and functions layouts can be used around the house to best accommodate the Client’s needs and wishes.

Also featuring an incredible 1-inch, 65,000-color, graphical OLED display, Olé continuously guides and informs the user as to the source and system status through real-time feedback. Vibrant icons and text have also been carefully matched to every film, extending the seamless nature of the product’s uncommon design and appeal.

Through the combined use of films, function layouts, OLED and frames, Olé delivers the industry’s greatest level of effortless customization at an affordable price for touchpad control throughout the home. Today, standard keypads on the market average in the $300 retail price range. Despite having all of these new, state-of-the-art, ELAN-exclusive features, Olé hits a price point in the same vein as basic keypads.

Olé is compatible with all ELAN multi-room controllers. Its IR-learning capabilities and on-board, non-volatile flash memory also allow it to be used as the primary user interface for any system, ELAN or otherwise.

Added Paul Starkey, “We are excited to offer a product that, hands down, is one of the most compelling new interfaces to enter the market in years. With its sophistication and power, Olé is a serious step up in user-friendly, in-wall controls for audio / video systems. Dealer response thus far has been overwhelming, and we expect the huge demand for Olé to continue as a result.”

Olé began shipping in August 2006 at an astonishing MSRP of $380.00, and was publicly launched at CEDIA in Denver. To see Olé in action in Amsterdam at the ISE show, stop by ELAN and Sunfire’s booth 080.


About ELAN Home Systems:
ELAN Home Systems is a leading manufacturer of innovative, award-winning Multi-Room audio/video and home automation systems. Based in Lexington, KY, the company’s systems were the first to integrate audio, video, phones and third-party products to create a seamless, easy-to-use “whole house” experience. The company’s unique products provide complete lifestyle, feature-rich solutions, yet can be configured to fit the specific needs of every homeowner. ELAN products are distributed through a comprehensive channel of select Dealers and Distributors throughout the United States, Canada and 58 countries worldwide. To learn more, visit www.elanhomesystems.com.

ELAN is a registered trademark of ELAN Home Systems, LLC, Lexington, KY. VIA! is a registered trademark of ELAN Home Systems, LLC. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners

Press Contacts:

Steven Style or Justin Kroesser
The Steven Style Group
New York, NY
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f) 212-465-1299
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justink@stylegroup.com

OR

Cat Fowler
ELAN Home Systems
Lexington, KY
t) 859-269-7760 x161
f) 859-268-2132
e) cfowler@elanhomesystems.com